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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · press · band · rest · land · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — a break
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — a country
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rest — what's left
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. land — ground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — newspapers
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com